Senator Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday for its slow response to reports of widespread fraud and abuse among those appointed to oversee the financial benefits paid to disabled and elderly veterans.Susan Walsh / AP

Washington -- U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer accused the Department of Veterans Affairs of "needless foot dragging" Wednesday, months after reports that its program to oversee the finances of disabled and elderly veterans is plagued with fraud and abuse.

Schumer, citing examples of fraud in Syracuse and across Upstate New York, said the VA failed to adequately respond to reports of widespread problems with its fiduciary program.

The VA appoints fiduciaries to handle the benefits and finances of elderly and mentally disabled veterans that the federal agency considers incapacitated. But some of those fiduciaries stole more than $14.7 million since 1998 from veterans they were trusted to protect, according to a Hearst Newspapers investigative report published in June.

Among the cases cited by Schumer and the newspapers was that of Sharon M. Wilson, 62, of Syracuse, a former paralegal who admitted stealing at least $57,604 in VA benefits from two veterans from 2004 to 2007.

Wilson had been appointed by the VA in 2000 to oversee the financial affairs of the two elderly veterans, who were not named in documents filed in U.S. District Court in Syracuse.

Wilson, who in court documents expressed remorse for her actions, was ordered last year to pay $57,604 restitution. She also was sentenced to three years’ probation, including six months of home confinement.

U.S. District Judge David N. Hurd, after receiving a report that Wilson had complied with all terms of her probation, signed an order Oct. 5 terminating her probation.

Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday such cases of fraud have become too common because of lax oversight from Veterans Affairs officials. He criticized those officials for not responding fast enough with a plan to correct the problems that have been exposed.

"For too long, veterans have fought for our nation and survived battle, only to face friendly fire from their VA-appointed fiduciaries," Schumer said.

"The VA fiduciary system, in which a third party is appointed to manage and protect the finances of elderly or mentally disabled veterans, lacks sufficient oversight, and is full of bad actors, needless delays, fraud and theft," he said. "To put it simply, enough is enough."

VA officials in Washington had no immediate response to Schumer’s comments.

Schumer said the VA has in some cases assigned strangers to the fiduciary program, including documented criminals and gamblers. The fiduciaries did not have to pass a criminal background check or credit check.

The senator said VA rules prohibit fiduciaries from making cash withdrawals from a beneficiary’s account, or to borrow, loan or make gifts with money belonging to the veteran.

Schumer said the VA has poor oversight of the anti-fraud safeguards because of insufficient staffing, and lack of training for VA employees to detect such abuses.

Schumer said the VA should also clear a backlog of cases where veterans are waiting for fiduciaries to be designated to handle their finances.

In Upstate New York, 1,703 veterans have been assigned a fiduciary but 355 veterans are still waiting for someone to be assigned to their case, according to a report by Schumer’s office.

In a seven-county region of Central New York, 190 veterans have been assigned a fiduciary, but 81 are waiting for assignments. Most of the local cases are in Onondaga County, where 86 veterans have fiduciaries and 45 are waiting for assignments, according to Schumer’s office.